A variety of video, audio, and data tape cartridges (also known as tape cassettes) are in commercial use. Each such tape cartridge includes a magnetic tape wound on a reel, for recording an analog or digital video signal, an analog or digital audio signal, or a digital data signal. A tape cartridge is designed to be inserted in a tape player including a mechanism for transporting the tape past a set of one or more magnetic heads, so that the heads can read a signal prerecorded on the tape or record a signal on the tape.
For convenience, the expression "tape player" is used herein (including in the claims) in a broad sense to denote either a device which reads signals prerecorded on tape (or film), a device which records signals on tape, a device capable of performing both such reading and recording functions, or a tape rewind device. Also for convenience, the term "tape cartridge" is used in a broad sense herein (including in the claims) to denote either a tape cassette or a tape cartridge.
To maintain good quality of playback and recording and to prevent premature wear (and possibly failure) of the heads and tape transport mechanism of a tape player, the heads and tape transport mechanism must be cleaned periodically to remove debris (especially magnetic particles from the surface of the tape) which accumulate on the heads and transport mechanism as tape is transported through the tape player. It is well known that users often neglect to clean tape player heads (and/or tape transport mechanisms) sufficiently frequently. This problem exists, for example, when tape players are installed in a multipassenger vehicle (such as an aircraft) and the driver or crew (e.g., flight crew of an aircraft) neglects to clean the heads (and/or tape transport mechanisms) of the tape players sufficiently frequently.
The inventor has recognized that, in order to provide some means in a tape cartridge for automatically cleaning the heads and/or transport mechanism of a tape player (as the tape in the cartridge is transported through the player), the following problem must be solved: particles removed from the heads and transport mechanism by the cleaning means during the first play of the tape (e.g., particles accumulated on a "cleaning leader" segment of the tape during the first play) must be prevented from being redeposited back onto the head and transport mechanism during second and subsequent plays of the tape.
Until the present invention it was not known how to include a cleaning segment (a "cleaning leader") in the tape of a tape cartridge, for automatically cleaning the heads (and/or transport mechanism) of a tape player which plays the tape, while also preventing the cleaning leader from being transported past the heads more than once, to prevent redeposit of particles accumulated on the cleaning leader during cleaning (and to prevent excessive wear of the tape head by an abrasive cleaning leader).